


Salvation

by CastielsGracex



Series: Between Worlds [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Awesome Benny Lafitte, Benny Lafitte & Dean Winchester Friendship, Benny Lafitte Takes Care of Dean Winchester, Castiel in Purgatory, Castiel/Dean Winchester in Purgatory, Dean In Love, Dean in Purgatory, DeanCas - Freeform, Destiel - Freeform, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Fluff, Guilt, Guilty Dean Winchester, M/M, Mutual Pining, No Smut, One Shot, Pining, Purgatory, Purgatory monsters - Freeform, Slight Canon Divergence, Supernatural - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-10-01 09:02:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10185749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CastielsGracex/pseuds/CastielsGracex
Summary: Dean thought about his priorities.He had been fighting alongside Benny for months now, relentlessly searching for the angel that had left Dean's side the moment they hit purgatory.Benny didn't seem to understand why Dean was so insistent on finding Castiel. It made sense if Dean really thought about it though, without knowing the history behind their friendship, most people would assume that Castiel had abandoned Dean and tried to save his own skin.Dean knew that couldn't be the case. That wasn't who Castiel was. Castiel was a brave warrior of heaven. If Castiel had left Dean in that situation, it had been for a good reason. Dean was absolutely sure of this. The only thing left was to find the angel in question. Reasoning could come later, once they were all safe.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I did a poll on twitter on what to write about today and purgatory destiel won. I didn't really want to write smut for this story because I already had the idea to make it an internal dean POV about his pining to find Castiel. I didn't want the emphasis of this one to be sexual - i wanted it to be emotional and this is what came out! Enjoy!
> 
> Find me on tumblr @ monarchmish.tumblr.com and twitter at: @monarchmish

Dean thought about his priorities.  
He had been fighting alongside Benny for months now, relentlessly searching for the angel that had left Dean's side the moment they hit purgatory.  
Benny didn't seem to understand why Dean was so insistent on finding Castiel. It made sense if Dean really thought about it though, without knowing the history behind their friendship, most people would assume that Castiel had abandoned Dean and tried to save his own skin.  
Dean knew that couldn't be the case. That wasn't who Castiel was. Castiel was a brave warrior of heaven. If Castiel had left Dean in that situation, it had been for a good reason. Dean was absolutely sure of this. The only thing left was to find the angel in question. Reasoning could come later, once they were all safe.

Dean turned to look at Benny. The vampire had been surprisingly loyal as an alliance in purgatory so far. Of course, the vampire needed him to get out of the wretched place and Dean wondered if his loyalty had anything to do with that, or if he was simply a loyal person.  
Benny seemed unlike the rest of vampires Dean had ever met - he was even different than the other "vegetarian" vamps that Dean had met. There was something very human about him and it showed through to the way he acted. Dean could see the humanity that the vampire clung to dearly. It was something to be appreciative of in those moments when Dean felt alone.

Dean honestly didn't know how he would have survived if it hadn't been for Benny so far. Both his sanity and his wellbeing had rested in the hands of the vampire more than just a handful of times in the past few weeks. Dean never thought he would be thankful for a vampire friend but if there's something he had learned in his short life, it was to never say never. Things can always surprise you and this right here was proof. Dean was in an alliance with a vampire and the vampire had saved his life. Who would have thought that Dean, the hunter, would be friends with a vamp?

Benny was fast and he did what he had to in order to survive. He was like Dean in so many ways and that's why they made a perfect team in purgatory. They both appreciated the danger of the place but they also both agreed that there was something pure about the place. It was the strangest feeling to be in danger, in the middle of battle for your life but feel peace as you fought. There was fear, sure, but it tended to be overpowered by a calm peacefulness. Everything in this place was there for the same reasons they were. Atonement.  
You had to fight for your life in here to atone for what you had done in life.

Benny understood that. Dean understood that. He was left wondering if Castiel had understood that. Dean thought about Castiel out there right now. In this place, alone with his thoughts, with no help during battle and he nearly had a panic attack. Dean didn't like thinking about the fact that his angel was out there alone. If Dean and Benny were barely getting by and they had each other for help....Dean could only imagine how much Castiel must be struggling. Dean sighed as he cursed in his head. He truly wished Castiel had not taken off. Not only had it left Dean extremely vulnerable but it put the angel in danger. And if Dean was honest with himself, he worried more about the angel than he did about himself. He would lay his life down for the angel in a heartbeat.

\----------------

They had been walking for hours without incident now and it was beginning to get suspicious. They were usually pretty hard pressed to go for more than 4 or 5 hours without dealing with an attack from some kind of purgatory monster. If Dean really thought about it though, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. If they were getting a break from the purgatory baddies, he was going to savor the moment and be thankful that he wasn't fighting for his life.

Dean stopped walking and bent over, resting his hands on his knees. He settled himself and caught his breath. Dean had been in shape before purgatory but it wasn't something to talk about. Now though, after months upon months in purgatory Dean was ripped. All he did at any time during the day was walk, run and fight monsters in hand to hand combat. He was in great shape but he was tired. He needed a break occasionally and so did the vampire. Now that it seemed like they had a few hours to rest, they were going to take advantage of it if they could.

Dean signaled to Benny that he was wiped out. He needed a rest. Thankfully, Benny was a man of few words but understood what Dean was saying. He scanned the perimeter while Dean plopped down on the floor right where he had been sitting - not even bothering to find somewhere with a little bit of shelter or more comfortable. For now the forest floor would do and be more than enough as a makeshift bed for him. Dean looked around doing one last sweep with his eyes before getting ready for a nap. He caught sigh of Benny walking back towards where Dean laid on the floor and in one of those rare moments during his stay in purgatory, he felt safe.

Dean closed his eyes and drifted off into oblivion, knowing his friend would protect him if he needed protection during his slumber.

\---------------

_Dean was in a forest with a clearing. This was no longer purgatory. It felt light and sunny. The smell of grass and pollen wafted through the air and Dean could smell the individual flowers. It was a beautiful sight. He stood under the thick on the edge of the clearing, taking in the sight before him. The sunlight came through in hazy soft rays of light, illuminating a small little lake in the center of the clearing. The golden sunlight sparkled off of the water, prisms dancing on the surface of everything the water reflected on. Dean caught sight of movement.  
There, right beside the lake sat Castiel. He was in his classic trench coat, his tie hanging loosely around his neck. The white dress shirt he usually wore had the top 3 buttons open. Dean watched from the privacy of his cover, peeping in on this private moment._

_Castiel had his eyes closed and his head thrown back, sitting in the sunlight. Dean almost thought Castiel might be meditating or praying. He felt guilty about intruding on this moment - especially if Castiel was having one of those rare moments of peace he so desperately deserved. The suns rays were reflecting off of the water onto Castiel and Dean thought he looked absolutely beautiful. He had never seen anything quite that beautiful. Dean was smitten in that moment._

_He knew how he felt for the angel. There really was no other way around it. Dean had been in love with Castiel for years but of course, it went unspoken. He was fairly certain Castiel could feel it though - their profound bond magnified all their feelings and they could sometimes feel each other's thoughts. Dean was a lucky man. Not everyone had an angel as a best friend who they loved. This angelic best friend in question had raised him from perdition and that's more than he could have ever asked for._

_He looked back over at the clearing, focusing on the angel that was practically glowing. His eyes were still closed. Dean felt a magnetic pull, beckoning him to come out of the trees. As he walked towards Castiel, he felt the pull settling in his chest, giving him a feeling of overwhelming warmth. He felt comfort unlike he had ever felt before. He felt peace. Everything felt right._

_He reached the angel and slipped his hand onto the angel's shoulder. Castiel made no move, simply let out a little sigh of happiness. Dean crouched and sat next to the angel, laying his head on Castiel's shoulder in the process. He was happy. He was safe._

\---------------------

Dean awoke to a high pitched scream. He had been dreaming. Damn it.  
He quickly shot up out of his sleeping position and grabbed his blade. He turned to find Benny locked in combat with another purgatory monster. The corpse of a second one on the floor next to him. The head had been ripped clean off.  
Dean made a mental note to thank Benny for being such a badass and saving their hides more than just a few times now as he charged forward, plunging the blade into the monster Benny was pinning up against the tree.  
Benny huffed a sigh of relief and nodded, cracking a smile.

The purgatory monster made a gurgling noise as Benny removed the pressure of his hands holding him up and Dean pulled the blade out. There was a sickening crunch followed by raspy breathing and suddenly, silence. The two men looked at each other and didn't need to say more. They had a mutual understanding to not speak when they didn't need to. There had been times when one of them broke down and let their emotions leak out, but after a battle was not one of those times. After a battle they were both too pumped on adrenaline to be able to carry on a conversation.

Dean crouched down and rubbed soil and leaves onto his blade in an effort to clean the blood off. He massaged the dirt into the bloody blade, until the blood formed crumbly mud that came off in clumps.  
Soon enough, the blade was clean.

Benny was currently doing the same with his weapon. Without a single word, they both took their weapon in hand and walked towards the river in the distance. It would just be a couple of more hours until they reached the river and Dean was antsy. He had heard the monsters talk of the angel being near the river. Dean was anxious. He needed his angel so desperately and the anticipation in his stomach built more and more as the minutes slowly ticked by.

\---------------------------

They tread quietly through the dimly lit trees, listening attently. They could hear the river rushing by and the sounds of life. It was pretty uncommon to hear the sound of bugs and any kind of life in purgatory, but they could suddenly hear buzzing and chirping around them. They both quietly wondered if it had anything to do with the water being nearby.

Dean's heart was pounding in his chest. He couldn't explain how but he could feel his angel. Castiel was nearby and every step brought them closer to each other. Dean was aching to be reunited with the fallen angel. It was all he had been able to think about for months now. 

The leaves crunched under his feet and he was acutely aware of a warmth pulsing through the air. Benny could feel it too - Dean could tell by the way Benny cocked his head, curious, wondering what the feeling was and where it was coming from. Dean knew all too well. They were minutes from finding Castiel and he just KNEW it.

At this point, Dean broke into a run without warning. Benny followed close behind, bewildered and nervous. He had no idea why Dean was running but he needed to protect Dean at all costs, after all Dean was his ride out of purgatory.  
Benny stopped when he saw Dean gasp and come to a screeching halt in front of him.

Dean's mouth was hanging slightly open and he was looking straight ahead, right next to the river.  
There in front of the both of them stood the angel. His clothes were tattered and bloody. Dean had never seen Castiel with so much facial hair but he didn't care. In that moment all he cared about was touching the angel. He needed to make sure he wasn't imagining it. He needed to make sure Castiel was real.  
It was as if time stopped when Dean yelled out Castiel's name, waiting for a response.

It seemed like hours later when Castiel responded in his gruff voice, not even looking back at him.

"Dean" the angel breathed.

\------------------------

Dean had been under the thick trees one minute, and the next thing he knew he was up against the angel as Benny watched from the sidelines. Dean did not care what Benny thought of him right now. All he could think about was being with Castiel. Reunited with the man he loved after so long. 

The moment Dean's arms wrapped around Castiel was like the feeling of salvation. Dean could have been in the very pits of Hell again, and as long as his angel was by his side, he knew everything would be okay. Castiel had preciously gripped Dean's soul as he held on tight and raised him out of hell. He had painstakingly put Dean's body back together, molecule by molecule. He had now spent years trying to do right by Dean and learn how to be a human and feel. And the more Dean thought about the sacrifices Castiel had made for him, the more he fell in love.

His movement came out in a fluid motion where there was no time to think. One moment he was smiling as he hugged his best friend in purgatory, the next moment, their lips were delicately touching and he was kissing the love of his life.

Dean was suspended in bliss as time stood still. He hugged Castiel tighter, oblivious to the world around him. Oblivious to anything but the scruffy angel in his arms.  
When lips delicately pressed back against his, time sped up again and Dean could breathe.

The moment he had put off for years had finally happened. Purgatory had been many things so far,most of them not good, and what Dean hadn't expected it to be was a blessing in disguise. But as he stood there wrapped around his angel, with their lips desperately seeking each other as Benny kept watch over them, Dean could only thank God for giving him this opportunity.

He may have been dealt shitty cards, but as the angel in his arms pressed against him, he knew there was nothing they couldn't get through together.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
